USF asks for help identifying Dozier school remains

USF researchers are still trying to identify remains buried at Dozier School for Boys during graveyard excavations at the former Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys in Marianna.
MARIANNA - Months after Governor Rick Scott granted researchers from

By CAROL KENT

Published: Wednesday, July 9, 2014 at 03:26 PM.

University of South Florida (USF) a permit to exhume bodies at Marianna's Dozier School for Boys, the university is asking for the public's help in identifying the remains. The body of at least one Washington County boy is among those remains.

The former Department of Juvenile Justice facility, which closed in 2011, made national headlines after Florida investigators reported finding more than 50 graves on the property.

The burial sites are believed to contain bodies of students, and while many are believed to have died in a fire and a flu epidemic, allegations have been made many deaths were from abuse and ill treatment. The allegations have been made by a group of men who survived the school, known as the "White House Boys," after the building in which the abuse is said to have happened.

Researchers, who received $190,000 in funding from the state for the project, as well as a $423,528 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, were given one year to exhume, identify and rebury the remains, as well as locate additional burials at the school.

With just three months left on their deadline, USF researchers are now asking the public to help identify the remains. Researchers have provided a list of children whose remains they believe they have, along with their parent or guardian's name, year received at Dozier, and their last known city of residence.

Anyone recognizing a name on the list is asked to contact Master Detective Greg Thomas of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office at 813-247-8678.

University of South Florida (USF) a permit to exhume bodies at Marianna's Dozier School for Boys, the university is asking for the public's help in identifying the remains. The body of at least one Washington County boy is among those remains.

The former Department of Juvenile Justice facility, which closed in 2011, made national headlines after Florida investigators reported finding more than 50 graves on the property.

The burial sites are believed to contain bodies of students, and while many are believed to have died in a fire and a flu epidemic, allegations have been made many deaths were from abuse and ill treatment. The allegations have been made by a group of men who survived the school, known as the "White House Boys," after the building in which the abuse is said to have happened.

Researchers, who received $190,000 in funding from the state for the project, as well as a $423,528 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, were given one year to exhume, identify and rebury the remains, as well as locate additional burials at the school.

With just three months left on their deadline, USF researchers are now asking the public to help identify the remains. Researchers have provided a list of children whose remains they believe they have, along with their parent or guardian's name, year received at Dozier, and their last known city of residence.

Anyone recognizing a name on the list is asked to contact Master Detective Greg Thomas of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office at 813-247-8678.